Application Deadline: September 14, 2019.
CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS UNDER THE THEMATIC, FACULTY, MASTERS AND PhD THESIS RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
Programme of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation- PARI
African Economic Research Consortium is pleased to announce this call for proposals which is under our Collaborative Masters Programme in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMMAE) Programme; from suitable candidates .
PARI research seeks to identify investment opportunities in the agriculture sectors and rural areas of Africa with the aim of improving food security and creating employment and income opportunities. PARI has partnered with the African Economic Research Consortium to deliver this objective through AERC’s four research delivery mechanisms, namely Faculty research, Thematic research, Master’s thesis research and PhD thesis research.
AERC’s Collaborative Master of Science Programme in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) gives a voice to theissues related to agriculture, food security and environmental management including climate change. The CMAAE programme involves 17 departments of Agricultural Economics in 13countries in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa regions.
The Objectives
PARI collaborates with partners from Africa and Germany to contribute to sustainable agricultural growth,food and nutrition security in Africa.PARI research seeks to identify investment opportunities in the agriculture sectors and rural areasof Africa with the aim of improving food security andcreating employment and income opportunities. PARI has partnered with the African Economic Research Consortium to deliver this objective through AERC’s four of its research delivery mechanisms, namely Faculty research, Thematic research, Master’s thesis research and PhD thesis research
Thesis research, both MSc and PhD are conducted by graduate students of the AERC Collaborative postgraduate programmes (Collaborative Mastersin Agricultural and Applied Economics-CMAAE,Collaborative Masters in Economics-CMAP, Collaborative PhD in Economics-CPP or PhD in Agricultural Economics students. The students are guided by their professors to research on carefully selected topics of current interest from conceptualization of thesis topics, proposal development, methodologies, empirical execution, results, write-ups, and finalization.
The Scope of the Research
The research themes relate to innovative approaches to stimulating the economic development of rural areas in Africa, with a focus on sustainable agricultural growth and food system development,including the following:
a)Mechanization, automation and skill development in agricultural production and food processing;
b)Digitalization in agriculture, food and nutrition;
c)Enhancing opportunities for the youth in the rural economy;
d)Employment opportunities in agricultural production and in post-production segments of the value chain;
e)Inputs use in agriculture (seed, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation, other technologies);
f)Potentials for and innovations in livestock and livestock products development in Africa
g)Improving the policy context and contributing to evidence-based policy processes.
The geographic scope includes the countries that are already part of AERC’s Training Programme (including fragile states) as well as priority countries in PARI Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia), as well as other countries in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Senegal, Tanzania and Rwanda)
Selection Criteria
A total of 15 MSc research grants are earmarked for award, five (5)each in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and two (2)PhD research grants to be awarded in 2019. Six (6) faculty research grants (3 each in 2020 and 2021) are earmarked for award, while two (2)thematic research grants will be awarded in 2020.
For MSc and PhDthesis research, only postgraduate students who have successfully completed their coursework and who would like to conduct thesis research in any one of the areas of research mentioned above are eligible to apply.
The applicants must be bona-fide students of the AERC collaborative training programmes.For Faculty and thematic research, applicantsshould meet the following requirements:
a)PhD in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Development Economics or related field;
b)A faculty member of the AERC network university or PARI partner country;
c)Provide an innovative and technically sound research proposal addressing one of the above PARI themes.
ApplicationProcess
\Applications clearly indicated “Faculty Research-AERC/PARI”, “Thematic Research-AERC/PARI”,“MSc Thesis Research-AERC/PARI” or “PhD Thesis Research-AERC/PARI”onthe subject line can besent to the following address on or before September14, 2019.
The Director of TrainingAfrican Economic Research Consortium P.O. Box 62882 –00200Nairobi Kenya,Or by email to the following addresses: cmaae@aercafrica.org
Please attach an updated curriculum vitae clearly indicating:-
i.Key academic qualifications
ii.Professional training and certificates obtained
iii.Employment record clearly stating the name of employer, period of employment, position held and brief description of main responsibilities
iv.Names and addresses of 2 references who can provide a reference on your work
For More Information
Visit the Official Webpage of the AERC CMMAE Programme 2019
